Apparatus, method and program for processing data

ABSTRACT

A data processing apparatus is provided, which includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to acquire a data set from target detected by a detection apparatus, perform rendering of the data set, and generate a plurality of views arranged on a screen. Each view of the plurality of views includes a plurality of pixels. Each pixel included in the plurality of views is associated with a plurality of pieces of information including a first information displayed on the screen and a second information that indicates a view among the plurality of views to which the pixel belongs.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/219,426 filed Mar. 31, 2021, which was a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/846,013 filed Apr. 10, 2020, which claimspriority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Japanese Patent Application No.2019-091605, which was filed on May 14, 2019, the entire disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a data processing apparatus and atechnology related thereto, and more particularly to a technology forexecuting a rendering of a data set detected by a detection apparatus.

BACKGROUND

There is a technology for acquiring a data set (e.g., school-of-fishdata) detected by a detection apparatus (e.g., a wave transceiverdevice) with respect to a target object (e.g., a school of fish),executing a rendering of the data set, and displaying the imagegenerated by the rendering in a display screen. In addition, there is atechnology, as disclosed in US2015-0035772A1, for displaying mutuallydifferent images based on mutually different data (in detail, anavigation image, a radar image, an underwater detection image) in aplurality of rectangular areas (divided areas) provided in a displayscreen, respectively, and accepting an instruction for movement (scroll)or a zoom (zoom-in/zoom-out) in the respective rectangular areas byusing a touch gesture. In this technology, it is determined whichdivided area an operated position of the touch gesture belongs to, andbased on the determination result, a target area (target image) of thetouch gesture is identified. Then, processing, such as a scroll or zoom(a magnification change), is executed in the identified divided area (anarea corresponding to the touch gesture).

In the above conventional technologies, the target area of the touchgesture is determined according to which area among the plurality ofdivided areas (rectangular areas) the operated position of the touchgesture belongs to.

Meanwhile, there is a demand for an improvement in a degree of freedomof the arrangement of the plurality of areas. If the plurality of areasis arranged according to such a demand, a plurality of adjacentrectangular areas may partially be overlapped.

However, when the plurality of rectangular areas are arranged so as tobe partially overlapped with each other, it is not always easy toappropriately determine the target area of the touch gesture.

SUMMARY

Therefore, one purpose of the present disclosure is to provide atechnology capable of determining a target area of a gesture moreappropriately from a plurality of areas.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a data processingapparatus is provided, which includes processing circuitry. Theprocessing circuitry is configured to acquire a data set from targetdetected by a detection apparatus, perform rendering of the data set,and generate a plurality of views arranged on a screen. Each view of theplurality of views comprises a plurality of pixels. Each pixel includedin the plurality of views is associated with a plurality of pieces ofinformation including a first information displayed on the screen and asecond information that indicates a view among the plurality of views towhich the pixel belongs.

According to some example embodiments, the data processing apparatus mayfurther comprise a user interface configured to receive a user operationon the plurality of views. The processing circuitry may be configured toacquire the second information associated with an operation pixelsubject to the user operation, specify an operation view subject to theuser operation based on the second information of the operation pixel,detect a gesture related to the user operation as an instructiongesture, and modify the operation view based on the instruction gesture,when the instruction gesture is a view modification instruction. Theplurality of views may comprise a perspective view. When the operationview is the perspective view, and a displacement amount of theinstruction gesture in a horizontal direction in the screen is largerthan a displacement amount of the instruction gesture in a verticaldirection in the screen, the processing circuitry may be configured togenerate a view image as a new perspective view by rotating a viewpointof the perspective view about a first axis in a three-dimensional spacerelating to the data set, the first axis being the vertical direction inthe screen in the perspective view.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a data processingmethod is provided, which includes acquiring a data set from targetdetected by a detection apparatus, and performing rendering of the dataset, and generating a plurality of views on a screen. Each view of theplurality of views comprises a plurality of pixels. Each pixel includedin the plurality of views is associated with a plurality of pieces ofinformation including a first information displayed on the screen and asecond information that indicates a view among the plurality of views towhich the pixel belongs.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, there isprovided a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereoncomputer-executable instructions which, when executed by a computer,cause the computer to acquire a data set from target detected by adetection apparatus, and perform rendering of the data set, and generatea plurality of views on a screen. Each view of the plurality of viewscomprises a plurality of pixels. Each pixel included in the plurality ofviews is associated with a plurality of pieces of information includinga first information displayed on the screen and a second informationthat indicates a view among the plurality of views to which the pixelbelongs.

According to these configuration, each pixel included in the pluralityof views may be associated with the plurality of pieces of informationincluding the second information indicative of the view to which thepixel belongs among the plurality of views. Therefore, it is possible toeasily acquire the information related to the view to which the pixelbelongs, based on the second information. As a result, it is possible todetermine the target area of the gesture more appropriately out of theplurality of areas respectively corresponding to the plurality of views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not by wayof limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which likereference numerals indicate like elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an underwaterdetection apparatus (data processing apparatus);

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of aninformation processing device;

FIG. 3 is a view schematically illustrating a transmitting space wheretransmission waves are transmitted by a transducer, and a plurality ofreceiving spaces where respective reception waves are received by thetransducer, respectively;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a display screen displayed on a displayunit;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating operation of the underwater detectionapparatus;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a movement vector of a drag;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a situation in which a rightward drag isperformed to a perspective view;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a changed perspective view;

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating a situation in which a downward drag isperformed to the perspective view;

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating a changed perspective view;

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating a situation in which a rightward drag isperformed to a side view;

FIG. 12 is a view illustrating a changed side view;

FIG. 13 is a view illustrating a situation in which a downward drag isperformed to the side view;

FIG. 14 is a view illustrating a situation in which a drag is performedto a top view;

FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a situation in which a drag is performedto the top view;

FIG. 16 is a view illustrating a situation in which a drag is performedto the top view;

FIG. 17 is a view illustrating a changed top view;

FIG. 18 is a view illustrating a state where a plurality of views arechanged in an interlocked fashion;

FIG. 19 is a view illustrating a situation in which a depth line isdragged;

FIG. 20 is a view illustrating a perspective view after the depth lineis moved;

FIG. 21 is a view illustrating the display screen after the top view ismoved;

FIG. 22 is a view illustrating the display screen after the perspectiveview is zoomed-in;

FIG. 23 is a view illustrating the display screen after each view ismoved and zoomed-in; and

FIG. 24 is a conceptual view illustrating a situation in which a certainpixel in the display screen is associated with first information andsecond information.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present disclosure is described withreference to the accompanying drawings.

1. First Embodiment <1-1. Entire Configuration of Underwater DetectionDevice>

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a dataprocessing apparatus according to the present disclosure (here, anunderwater detection apparatus 1). The underwater detection apparatus 1of this embodiment may be used in a ship (e.g., a fishing boat). Notethat the present disclosure may be applied to ships which typicallytravel on water or sea which are referred to as surface ships, and mayalso be applied to other types of ships including boats, dinghies,watercrafts, and vessels. Further, the present disclosure may also beapplied, if applicable, to submarines.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the underwater detection apparatus 1 (mayalso be referred to as an “environmental detection apparatus”) may beprovided with a scanning sonar 10 and an information processing device20. In the underwater detection apparatus 1, for example, an informationprocessing device 20 may externally be attached to the scanning sonar 10which is generally known. Note that, in the underwater detectionapparatus 1, the information processing device 20 may be mounted on thescanning sonar 10. A display unit 31 constituted as a display device mayexternally be attached to the information processing device 20. Anoperation input unit 33 constituted as a pointing device (e.g., a mouse)may externally be attached to the underwater detection apparatus 1. Thedisplay unit 31 and the operation input unit 33 may function as a userinterface 34.

The scanning sonar 10 may be provided with a transducer 2 and atransceiver 3.

<1-2. Configuration of Transducer>

The transducer 2 may have a function for transmitting and receiving anultrasonic wave, and may be attached to the bottom of a ship S. Forexample, the transducer 2 is formed in a substantially spherical shape.

In detail, the transducer 2 may have a substantially spherical-shapedcasing, and ultrasonic transducers (not illustrated) as a plurality ofwave transceiver elements attached to an outer circumferential surfaceof the casing. Each ultrasonic transducer may transmit an ultrasonicwave to an underwater transmitting space as a transmission wave, receivea reception wave as a reflection wave including a reflection of thetransmission wave on an underwater target object, convert the receptionwave into an electric signal to generate a reception signal from thereceived reception wave, and output it to the transceiver 3. That is,the transducer 2 may be constituted as a transmitter which transmits thetransmission wave underwater (may also be referred to as a “transmissiontransducer”), and also constituted as a receiver which receives thereception wave including the reflection of the transmission wave on theunderwater target object and generates the reception signal from thereceived reception wave (may also be referred to as a “receptiontransducer”). The underwater target on which the transmission wavetransmitted from the transducer 2 is reflected may include a school offish.

Note that, in this embodiment, although the spherical-shaped transducer2 is illustrated, it is not limited to the spherical shape in particularand may be other shapes, such as a substantially cylindrical shape. Ifthe transducer 2 has the substantially cylindrical shape, the transducer2 may be arranged so that the axial direction is oriented in thevertical direction and the radial direction is oriented in thehorizontal direction.

FIG. 3 is a view schematically illustrating a transmitting space TSwhere transmission waves are transmitted by the transducer 2, and aplurality of receiving spaces RS where reception waves are received bythe transducer 2, respectively. The transmission waves transmitted fromthe transducer 2 mounted on the ship S may be transmitted all at oncetoward all the underwater azimuth directions centering on the ship Sfrom the transducer 2, for example, to form a hemispherical transmissionbeam. If the hemispherical transmission beam is formed, the transmittingspace TS where the transmission waves are transmitted may be constitutedas a hemispherical space. Note that the shape of the transmission beamis not limited to the hemispherical shape, but may be various differentshapes depending on the shape of the transducer 2, or the amplitude andphase of an electric signal which is inputted into each wave transceiverelement of the transducer 2.

The transducer 2 may receive a reception wave from a three-dimensionalspace which spreads outside from the transducer 2. In detail, after thetransmission of the transmission beam, the transducer 2 may form aplurality of receiving beams for scanning inside the transmitting spaceTS in the circumferential direction (in the azimuth direction θillustrated by an arrow in FIG. 3 ) all at once. That is, all thereceiving beams may be formed at the single receiving timing of thetransducer 2. Then, the reception wave reflected on the target object(e.g., an underwater school of fish) may be received by each of theplurality of receiving spaces RS (i.e., each space where the receivingbeam is formed) arranged in the circumferential direction (i.e., in theazimuth direction θ) of the transmitting space TS.

<1-3. Configuration of Transceiver>

The transceiver 3 may include a transmission/reception switch 3 a, atransmission circuit 6, and a reception circuit 7 (see FIG. 1 ).

The transmission/reception switch 3 a is to switch transmission andreception of a signal to the transducer 2. In detail, when transmittingto the transducer 2 a drive signal for driving the transducer 2, thetransmission/reception switch 3 a may output to the transducer 2 thedrive signal outputted from the transmission circuit 6. On the otherhand, when the reception signal is received from the transducer 2, thetransmission/reception switch 3 a may output the reception signalreceived from the transducer 2 to the reception circuit 7.

The transmission circuit 6 may generate the drive signal used as thebasis of the transmission wave to be transmitted from the transducer 2.In more detail, the transmission circuit 6 may have transmissioncircuits (not illustrated) provided corresponding to the respectiveultrasonic transducers, and each transmission circuit may generate thedrive signal.

The reception circuit 7 may have an analog part 7 a and an A/D converter7 b. The analog part 7 a and the A/D converter 7 b may be a receptioncircuit provided corresponding to each ultrasonic transducer, and may beprovided with a reception circuit (not illustrated) which processes thereception signal generated from the received reception wave. The analogpart 7 a may amplify the reception signal as an electric signal whichthe transducer 2 generates from the reception wave and outputs, andremove unnecessary frequency components by limiting the frequency band.The A/D converter 7 b may convert the reception signal amplified by theanalog part 7 a into a reception signal as a digital signal. Thereception circuit 7 may output the reception signal converted into thedigital signal by the A/D converter 7 b to the information processingdevice 20.

<1-4. Configuration of Display Unit>

The display unit 31 may be constituted as a display device. The displayunit 31 may display an image according to the image signal outputtedfrom information processing device 20 on a display screen. For example,the display unit 31 may three-dimensionally display an underwater statebelow the ship S. A plurality of views (view images) 51, 52, and 53 maybe displayed on the display screen of the display unit 31 as will bedescribed in detail later (see FIG. 4 etc.). Note that a user of theunderwater detection apparatus 1 can guess the underwater state belowthe ship S (e.g., the existence and the position of a school of fish,ups and downs of the seabed, a structure such as an artificial fishreef) by viewing the display screen.

<1-5. Configuration of Information Processing Device>

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of theinformation processing device 20. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 , theinformation processing device 20 may process the reception signaloutputted from the reception circuit 7, generate an echo signal of thetarget object, and generate an echo image signal for displaying an echoof the target object on the display unit 31. Note that, since theinformation processing device 20 has a rendering function, it may alsobe referred to as a “rendering device” or a “display control device.”

The information processing device 20 may include a data generationmodule 21, a data acquisition module 22, a rendering module 23, a viewspecifying module 24, a gesture detection module 25, and a viewmodification module 26.

The information processing device 20 may be an apparatus connected withthe transceiver 3 of the scanning sonar 10 through a cable etc., andcomprised of a personal computer (PC), for example. The informationprocessing device 20 may include processing circuitry 20 a such as ahardware processor (e.g., a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU(Graphics Processing Unit), and an FPGA (Field-Programmable GateArray)), and various memories (a volatile memory and a nonvolatilememory).

In the hardware processor, various kinds of processors may beimplemented by executing a given software program (hereinafter, maysimply be referred to as “the program”) stored in the nonvolatilememory. Note that the program (in detail, a program module group) may berecorded on a mobile recording medium (e.g., a USB memory), read fromthe recording medium, and installed in the information processing device20. Alternatively, the program may be downloaded via a network andinstalled in the information processing device 20.

By the hardware processor executing the program, various kinds ofprocessing including the data generation module 21, the data acquisitionmodule 22, the rendering module 23, the view specifying module 24, thegesture detection module 25, and the view modification module 26 may beimplemented.

The data generation module 21 may be a processing which generates a dataset (e.g., echo data) based on the reception signal generated by thetransceiver 3. The data generation module 21 may generate the data setby performing a beam forming for each of the plurality of receivingspaces RS based on the reception signal received from the transceiver 3.Note that the data set may be a group of data detected by the detectionapparatus for the target object (e.g., a school of fish). For example,the data set may be comprised of data related to an echo intensity(e.g., an intensity of the reflection wave from a school of fish) ateach of the three-dimensional positions (X, Y, Z) within an underwaterenvironment. The data set may temporarily be stored in the volatilememory (or the nonvolatile memory).

The data acquisition module 22 may be a processing which acquires thedata set (e.g., school-of-fish data) detected by the detection apparatus(e.g., the scanning sonar 10) for the target object (e.g., a school offish). The data acquisition module 22 acquires, for example, the echodata detected by the transducer 2 and the transceiver 3 for the targetobject (e.g., a school of fish) and stored in the memory, by extractingthe echo data from the memory.

The rendering module 23 may be a processing which performs a renderingof the data set. The rendering module 23 may generate a plurality ofviews (may also be referred to as view images), which will be describedlater, arranged in the display screen of the display unit 31.

The view specifying module 24 may be a processing which acquires secondinformation F2 (described later) associated with a target pixel ofoperation by the user (an operation pixel subject to the useroperation), and specifies or identifies an operation target view (anoperation view subject to the user operation) based on the secondinformation F2. In other words, the view specifying module 24 may be aprocessing which identifies a target area of a gesture from a pluralityof areas corresponding to the plurality of view images. By using thesecond information F2, it is possible to easily identify the operationtarget view.

The gesture detection module 25 may be a processing which detects thegesture accompanying a user operation as an instructing gesture(operational instruction information). The user can perform theoperation to arbitrary one of the plurality of views by using the userinterface 34. The “gesture” performed by the user may be accepted by theuser interface 34 (e.g., the pointing device, such as the mouse).

The “gesture” may be accepted through a mouse operation by the user, forexample. In other words, various operations to the mouse (e.g., a click,a drag, and a rotation of a mouse wheel) may be accepted as the“gesture.” Note that, without limiting to these gestures, the “gesture”may be accepted by other user interfaces, such as a touch panel (touchscreen). For example, a direct touch operation to a screen (e.g., adrag, a pinch-in, and a pinch-out) may be accepted as the “gesture.” Inthis first embodiment, the configuration in which the gesture isaccepted using the mouse is mainly described, while the configuration inwhich the gesture is accepted using the touch panel is mainly describedin the second embodiment.

The view modification module 26 may be a processing which collaborateswith the rendering module 23 to modify or correct the view(s). When theinstructing gesture is a view modification instruction, the viewmodification module 26 may modify or correct the operation target view(view image to be operated) based on the view modification instruction.

<1-6. Operation> <Initial Operation>

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating operation of the underwater detectionapparatus 1 (mainly, the information processing device 20). Below, theoperation of the underwater detection apparatus 1 is described withreference to FIG. 5 etc.

First, at Step S11, the information processing device 20 (in detail, thedata acquisition module 22) of the underwater detection apparatus 1 mayacquire the data set detected from the underwater environment related tothe underwater target object (e.g., a school of fish). In detail, theecho data detected by the scanning sonar 10 etc. (a data group relatedto the echo obtained from the hemispherical environmental space whichspreads below the ship S) may be acquired as the data set.

Then, at Step S12, the information processing device 20 (in detail, therendering module 23) may execute a rendering of the data set to generatea plurality of views 50 arranged in a display screen 200 of the displayunit 31. Then, the information processing device 20 may arrange theplurality of views at respective initial positions in the display screen200.

<A Plurality of Views>

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating the display screen 200 displayed on thedisplay unit 31. The plurality of views (may also be referred to as“view images”) based on the same data set may be displayed on thedisplay screen 200.

As illustrated in FIG. 4 , here, the plurality of views 50 may includethree views of a perspective view 51, a side view 52, and a top view 53.Note that, without being limited to this configuration, only two viewsof the perspective view 51, the side view 52, and the top view 53 may berendered as the plurality of views 50, for example. Alternatively, theplurality of views 50 may include at least two (or at least one) of theperspective view 51, the side view 52, and the top view 53, and otherkinds of views. Note that the “perspective view” may also be referred toas a 3D view or a perspective image, the “side view” may also bereferred to as a side image, and the “top view” may also be referred toas a plan view, an upper view, a plan image, or an upper image.

Each view may use a hemisphere-shaped (may also be referred to as a“bowl shape” or a “lower hemispherical shape”) data set display space asa display target.

The perspective view (3D view) 51 may be a view image in which the dataset display space (a three-dimensional space where the data set isdisplayed) is rendered three-dimensionally by using a perspectiveprojection. Here, the perspective view 51 may have an external shape inwhere a bowl is seen from obliquely upward (from upper front) in thedisplay screen 200. In detail, the perspective view 51 may have a shapemade by a vertical combination of an ellipse in an upper half andanother ellipse in a lower half (the two ellipses having long axes(horizontal direction) of the same length and having short axes(vertical direction) of different lengths). By viewing the perspectiveview (3D view) 51 rendered three-dimensionally, the user can easilygrasp the entire image.

Moreover, the side view 52 may be a view image in which the data setdisplay space is seen horizontally from the sideway. Here, the side view52 may have a semicircular shape (the lower semicircular shape) in thedisplay screen 200.

Moreover, the top view 53 may be a view image in which the data setdisplay space is seen from right above. Here, the top view 53 may have acircular shape in the display screen 200.

<Data Structure>

Each of the plurality of views 51, 52, and 53 may include a plurality ofpixels. Moreover, as illustrated in a conceptual view of FIG. 24 , eachpixel 68 included in the plurality of views may be associated with aplurality of pieces of information including first information F1displayed on the display screen 200 and the second information F2indicative of a view to which the pixel belongs. FIG. 24 is a viewconceptually illustrating a situation where a certain pixel 68 in thedisplay screen 200 (in detail, in the perspective view 51) is associatedwith a plurality of pieces of information (including the firstinformation F1 and the second information F2). The first information F1and the second information F2 may similarly be associated with each ofother pixels in the display screen 200 (other pixels in the perspectiveview 51, and each pixel in the side view 52 and the top view 53).

As described above, the data set may be comprised of data related to anecho intensity (an intensity of the reflection wave from a school offish etc.) at each of a plurality of three-dimensional positions (X, Y,Z) within the underwater environment. In other words, the data set mayinclude the three-dimensional position (X, Y, Z) of each target objectand the signal strength of the reception signal from the target objectat this three-dimensional position.

In each of the views 51, 52, and 53, the information including the echointensity at each of the three-dimensional position may be displayed soas to be distinguishable by color. In detail, color information(information for classifying the echo intensity by a plurality of stagesand distinguishing the plurality of stages by color), such as red,yellow, and blue may be given to each pixel which is obtained byconverting the three-dimensional position (X, Y, Z) into two dimensions.For example, echo information (e.g., the color information according tothe echo intensity) which is located at the three-dimensional positionwhere the echo intensity is above a given value on a given line of sightcorresponding to each pixel of a certain view, and at the closestthree-dimensional position when seen from a given viewpoint of the viewmay be given as the first information F1 on the pixel in the displayscreen 200 (two-dimensional plane). Alternatively, echo informationwhich is located at the three-dimensional position where the echointensity is at the highest level on the given line of sightcorresponding to each pixel of one view and at the closestthree-dimensional position when seen from the given viewpoint of theview may be given as the first information F1 on the pixel in thedisplay screen (two-dimensional plane).

In each of the views 51, 52, and 53 of the display screen 200 of FIG. 4, a red pixel group (a pixel group indicating that it has the largestsignal strength level) of the pixel groups indicative of the echo dataof schools of fish 71 and 72 is obliquely hatched. Moreover, a yellowpixel group (a pixel group indicating that it has the second largestsignal strength level) is dot-hatched.

Thus, the first information F1 may be associated to each pixel in oneview. Note that the first information F1 may be color information basedon the echo intensity, or may be a stage value or an echo intensityvalue (detection value) of the echo intensity.

Moreover, the second information F2 may be also associated with eachpixel in one view. The second information F2 on each pixel may beinformation indicative of a view among the plurality of views 50 (51,52, and 53) to which the pixel belongs. The second information F2 oneach pixel may be also referred to as view identification information,which is information indicative of the view among the plurality of views51, 52, and 53 to which the pixel belongs.

For example, each pixel in the perspective view 51 may be associatedwith the information indicating that the pixel belongs to theperspective view 51, as the second information F2. Similarly, each pixelin the side view 52 may be associated with the information indicatingthat the pixel belongs to the side view 52, as the second informationF2. Similarly, each pixel in the top view 53 may be associated with theinformation indicating that the pixel belongs to the top view 53, as thesecond information F2.

Note that, here, pixels in the display screen 200 which belong to noneof the plurality of views 51, 52, and 53 may not be associated with thesecond information F2. However, without being limited to thisconfiguration, the pixels in the display screen 200 which belong to noneof the views, 51, 52, and 53 may be associated with informationindicating that it belongs to none of the views 51, 52, and 53 (e.g.,“0”), as the second information F2.

Moreover, when two adjacent views overlap with each other (inappearance), information indicating that each pixel in the overlappedarea belongs to an upper (upper layer side) view may be recorded as thesecond information F2. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 23 (describedlater), information indicating that each pixel of the overlapped part ofthe side view 52 and the top view 53 (an area where a part of the topview 53 near the left end side covers a part of the side view 52 nearthe upper right end) belongs to the upper-side top view 53 may berecorded as the second information F2 on the pixel.

<Outline of Change in Each View According to User Operation>

At the subsequent Step S13, the information processing device 20 (indetail, the gesture detection module 25) may determine whether thegesture associated with the user operation is detected. Here, a gestureby using the mouse (e.g., a drag of the mouse) may be detected as thegesture.

If the gesture is not detected at Step S13, the information processingdevice 20 may proceed to Step S17, where it determines whether theprocessing of FIG. 5 is to be ended. At Step S17, the informationprocessing device 20 may determine whether a condition for suspendingthe processing of the FIG. 5 , such as an arrival of an acquisitiontiming of the next data set (e.g., the next echo data) is satisfied. Ifdetermined that the condition has not yet being satisfied, theinformation processing device 20 may return to Step S13. On the otherhand, if determined that the condition is satisfied, the informationprocessing device 20 may suspend the processing of FIG. 5 . Note that,after that, the processing of FIG. 5 may be resumed in response to thearrival of the acquisition timing of the next data set.

On the other hand, if the gesture is detected at Step S13, theinformation processing device 20 may proceed to Step S14.

At Step S14, in response to the acceptance of the view modificationinstruction, the operation target view of the gesture may first beidentified. In detail, the information processing device 20 (viewspecifying module 24) may acquire the second information F2 associatedwith the pixel at an operation starting position of the drag. Then, theinformation processing device 20 may identify the operation target viewbased on the acquired second information F2. Further, at Step S15, theinstructed content of the instructing gesture to the operation targetview (correction instruction content) may be identified, and a viewpointchange (viewpoint rotation) may be executed by the view modificationmodule 26 based on the instructed content. In detail, if determined (bythe gesture detection module 25 and the view modification module 26)that the gesture performed by the user (instructing gesture) is the viewmodification instruction, a changed viewpoint according to the viewmodification instruction may be determined. Further, at Step S16, arendering based on the changed viewpoint (a rendering of the objectrelated to the data set) may be executed by the rendering module 23 andthe view modification module 26 to correct the operation target view.

<Viewpoint Change in Perspective View 51>

The following processing may be executed when the user performs the drag(instructing gesture) of the mouse on the display screen 200 from astate where a mouse cursor 65 exists in the perspective view 51 (seeFIGS. 7 and 9 ).

In this case, first, the information processing device 20 may acquirethe second information F2 associated with the pixel at the operationstarting position of the drag, and determine that the pixel isassociated with the perspective view 51 based on the second informationF2. Based on this determination result, the view specifying module 24may further determine that the operation target view is the perspectiveview 51 (Step S14).

Next, the information processing device 20 may compare directionalcomponent values ΔU and ΔV (see FIG. 6 ) of the drag (instructinggesture) to identify whether the direction of the given move instructionis either the horizontal direction (U-direction) or the verticaldirection (V-direction) in the screen 200 (Step S15). Note that, in FIG.6 , a movement vector of the drag is illustrated by a white arrow, andthe horizontal component ΔU (a displacement amount of the mouse in thehorizontal direction) and the vertical component ΔV (a displacementamount of the mouse in the vertical direction) of the movement vector(white arrow) are illustrated as well.

Then, the information processing device 20 may identify the instructedcontent of the instructing gesture according to the comparison result ofthe instructed displacement amount ΔU in the horizontal direction in thescreen 200 and the instructed displacement amount ΔV in the verticaldirection in the screen 200 (Step S15). According to this, the maindirection of the drag, as a result, the instructed content of theinstructing gesture may be identified in cases including a case wherethe drag is performed in an oblique direction in the screen.

In detail, when the instructed displacement amount ΔU is larger than theinstructed displacement amount ΔV, “a rotation instruction about thevertical axis AX1” may be identified as the instructed content of theinstructing gesture to the operation target view 51. In other words, achange instruction of the azimuth direction for the viewpoint may beidentified as the instructed content. Note that the vertical axis AX1may be an axis extending in a three-dimensional space (actual space)vertically from the ship S to the seabed.

On the other hand, when the instructed displacement amount ΔU is smallerthan the instructed displacement amount ΔV, “a rotation instructionabout the horizontal axis AX2” may be identified as the instructedcontent of the instructing gesture to the operation target view 51. Inother words, a change instruction of an angle of elevation for theviewpoint may be identified as the instructed content.

Thus, a rotating direction of the viewpoint may be determined. Indetail, the rotating direction of the viewpoint may be changed accordingto the magnitude correlation between the instructed displacement amountΔU and the instructed displacement amount ΔV.

Further, at Step S15, the information processing device 20 may determinea rotating amount of the viewpoint (a displacement amount) according tothe displacement amount of the drag.

Thus, when the instructed content of the instructing gesture (therotating direction (the moving direction) and the rotating amount of theviewpoint) are determined, the information processing device 20 mayexecute a rendering based on the changed viewpoint according to theinstructed content to correct the view at the subsequent Step S16. Indetail, a new view image may be generated from the changed viewpoint,and the perspective view may be updated based on the new perspectiveview.

In more detail, if the instructed displacement amount ΔU is larger thanthe instructed displacement amount ΔV, the information processing device20 may generate a view image obtained by rotating the viewpoint of theperspective view about the vertical axis (Z-axis) AX1 which is in thethree-dimensional space and is associated with the vertical direction inthe screen 200 in the perspective view 51, as the new perspective view.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7 , when the user performs a drag(instructing gesture) horizontally to the right (in the display screen200) from a state where the mouse cursor 65 exists in the perspectiveview 51, the information processing device 20 may determine that therotation instruction about the vertical axis (Z-axis) AX1 (and thevertical axis in the screen (V-axis)) in the actual space is given fromthe user for the perspective view 51. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 8 ,the perspective view 51 after the change (new perspective view) may bedisplayed instead of the perspective view 51 before the change. In FIG.8 , the new perspective view where the viewpoint is rotated about thevertical axis AX1 (about 90° clockwise) is illustrated. The newperspective view 51 may be also an image obtained by rotating theoriginal view image about the vertical axis AX1 (about 90°counterclockwise). Note that, when a leftward drag is performed, aperspective view 51 obtained by rotating the original view image aboutAX1 in the opposite direction may be displayed.

On the other hand, when the instructed displacement amount ΔU is smallerthan the instructed displacement amount ΔV, the information processingdevice 20 may generate a view image obtained by rotating the viewpointof the perspective view about the horizontal axis AX2 which is in thethree-dimensional space and is associated with the horizontal directionin the screen 200 in the perspective view 51, as the new perspectiveview.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 9 , when the user performs a dragvertically downward (in the display screen 200) from the state where themouse cursor 65 exists in the perspective view 51, the informationprocessing device 20 may determine that the rotation instruction aboutthe horizontal axis (and the horizontal axis in the screen (U-axis)) AX2in the actual space is given from the user for the perspective view 51.Then, as illustrated in FIG. 10 , a perspective view 51 after the change(a new perspective view obtained by rotating the viewpoint about thehorizontal axis AX2) may be displayed instead of the perspective view 51before the change. In FIG. 10 , the perspective view from the viewpointat which the angle of elevation is larger may be displayed, and this maybe clear as comparing FIG. 10 with FIG. 9 . Note that, when an upwarddrag is performed, a perspective view 51 obtained by rotating theoriginal perspective view about AX2 in the opposite direction may bedisplayed.

<Viewpoint Change in Side View 52>

Moreover, as illustrated in FIG. 11 (or FIG. 13 ), the followingprocessing may be executed when the user performs a drag (a drag of themouse) from the state where the mouse cursor 65 exists in the side view52.

In this case, first, it may be determined that the pixel at theoperation starting position of the drag is associated with the side view52 based on the second information F2 on the pixel, and the viewspecifying module 24 may determine that the operation target view is theside view 52 (Step S14).

Next, the information processing device 20 may identify the instructedcontent of the instructing gesture according to the comparison resultbetween the instructed displacement amount ΔU and the instructeddisplacement amount ΔV (see FIG. 6 ) (Step S15), and correct the view ifneeded based on the instructed content of the instructing gesture (StepS16). In detail, the necessity etc. of the correction of the view may bechanged according to the magnitude correlation between the instructeddisplacement amount ΔU and the instructed displacement amount ΔV.

In detail, if the instructed displacement amount ΔU is larger than theinstructed displacement amount ΔV (see FIG. 11 ), “the rotationinstruction about the vertical axis AX1” may be identified as theinstructed content of the instructing gesture to the operation targetview 52. Then, the information processing device 20 may generate a viewimage obtained by rotating the viewpoint of the side view 52 about thevertical axis AX1 as a new side view 52, and the new side view 52 may bedisplayed in the screen 200 instead of the original side view 52 (seeFIG. 12 ). Note that, when a leftward drag is performed, a side view 52obtained by rotating the original side view 52 about AX1 in the oppositedirection may be displayed.

On the other hand, when the instructed displacement amount ΔU is smallerthan the instructed displacement amount ΔV (see FIG. 13 ), theinformation processing device 20 may determine that the instructinggesture is not the view modification instruction. In other words, theinformation processing device 20 may identify that “the viewpoint willnot be rotated (changed)” as the instructed content of the instructinggesture to the operation target view 52 (i.e., rotation will beinhibited). In this case, the correction of the side view 52 will not beperformed (see FIG. 4 ).

<Viewpoint Change in Top View 53>

As illustrated in FIGS. 14 to 16 , the following processing may beexecuted when the user performs a drag (instructing gesture) from thestate where the mouse cursor 65 exists in the top view 53. Note that, arightward drag is performed in FIG. 14 , an upward drag is performed inFIG. 15 , and an upward and leftward drag is performed in FIG. 16 .

In this case, first, the information processing device 20 may determinethat the pixel at the operation starting position of the drag isassociated with the top view 53 based on the second information F2 ofthe pixel, and the view specifying module 24 may determine that theoperation target view is the top view 53 (Step S14).

Next, the information processing device 20 may identify the instructedcontent of the instructing gesture regardless of the magnitudecorrelation between the instructed displacement amount ΔU and theinstructed displacement amount ΔV (see FIG. 6 ). In detail, theinformation processing device 20 may identify that the instruction forrotating the viewpoint of the top view 53 about the vertical axis AX1 inthe three-dimensional space is given (Step S15). Then, the informationprocessing device 20 may generate a view image obtained by rotating theviewpoint of the top view 53 about the vertical axis AX1 in thethree-dimensional space as a new top view based on the instructedcontent of the instructing gesture (Step S16). Then, the new top view 53may be displayed in the screen 200 instead of the original top view 53(see FIG. 17 ). Note that, in the top view 53, the vertical axis AX1 inthe three-dimensional space may extend in the vertical direction withrespect to the screen 200 (drawing surface). Note that, when a rotationin the opposite direction about the center axis of the top view 53 isperformed, a top view 53 obtained by rotating the original top viewabout AX1 in the opposite direction may be displayed.

<Exceptional Handlings in Drag>

The above processings are performed when the drag is performed to any ofthe plurality of views and the drag is started from a point in the viewother than given marks (e.g., equi-depth lines).

On the other hand, even if the drag is performed to any of the pluralityof views, when the drag is started from the given mark (e.g., theequi-depth line), the following exceptional handlings may be performed.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 19 , when a vertical drag (e.g.,downward) is performed from a position on the equi-depth line (a curveindicating the same water depth) 63 (63 a) in the perspective view 51,processing for moving the equi-depth line 63 may be performed in theperspective view 51. In FIG. 20 , the equi-depth line 63 (63 a) is moveddownwardly in the changed screen 200.

<Move and Zoom>

A mode change button 69 (see FIG. 4 etc.) may be provided to the screen200. Each time this mode change button 69 is pressed, an operation modemay be changed between a “rotation mode” and an “arrangement changemode.” The “rotation mode” may be a mode in which the above operation(the rotation of each of the views 51, 52, and 53) is realized (seeFIGS. 4 to 20 ), and the “arrangement change mode” may be a mode inwhich an arrangement etc. of each of the views 51, 52, and 53 in thescreen 200 is changeable (see FIG. 21 etc.).

The following operation may be performed when the mode change button 69in the screen 200 is pressed and the operation mode is changed to the“arrangement change mode.”

In detail, according to the drag to the operation target view, theposition of the operation target view in the screen 200 may be changed.For example, as illustrated in FIG. 21 , according to a downward andleftward drag to the top view 53, the position of the top view 53 in thescreen 200 may be changed to a downward and leftward position. In FIG.21 , the top view 53 may be moved to a position near the perspectiveview 51 and downward and rightward of the perspective view 51, and aposition near the side view 52 and upward and rightward of the side view52.

Further, when a wheel operation of the mouse is performed in the statewhere the mouse cursor exists in the operation target view, theinformation processing device 20 may change the size of each operationtarget view in the screen 200 according to the wheel operation. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 22 , when a mouse wheel is rotatedforward in the state where the mouse cursor 65 exists in the perspectiveview 51, the information processing device 20 may determine that azoom-in instruction of the perspective view 51 is given and zoom in theperspective view 51. In other words, a ratio of the perspective view 51occupying the screen 200 may become larger. On the contrary, if a mousewheel operation in the opposite direction (a rearward rotation) isperformed, the perspective view 51 may be zoomed out. The same handlingmay be applied to other views 52 and 53.

Each view may be zoomed in and/or zoomed out centering on the positionof the mouse cursor 65. Note that, without being limited to thisconfiguration, the zooming may be carried out centering on a givenreference position (e.g., the position of the ship S).

The user can freely change the size and the position of each view bycombining the move operation and zoom operation as described above (seeFIG. 23 ). In other words, the user can arrange each view in arbitrarysizes and at arbitrary positions in the display screen 200. Note that,FIG. 23 illustrates a state where the size and the position of each vieware changed based on the move operation and the zoom operation to theviews 51 and 52 and the move operation to the top view 53.

Moreover, when the user combines the operation in the “arrangementchange mode” and the operation in the “rotation mode,” each view imagein which the size and the position of each view are freely changed andthe viewpoint is freely changed (rotating the perspective view 51 aboutthe axis AX1) can be presented to the user.

Moreover, the user can also specify a display position and a displaysize of each view immediately after the device is rebooted (initialstate) by operating similarly.

<1-7. Effects of First Embodiment>

As described above, each pixel included in the plurality of views 50(51, 52, and 53) may be associated with the plurality of pieces ofinformation including the first information F1 displayed in the screen200 and the second information F2 indicative of the view to which thepixel belongs among the plurality of views 50. Therefore, it is possibleto easily acquire the information related to the view to which the pixelbelongs, based on the second information F2. As a result, it is possibleto determine the target area of the gesture more appropriately out ofthe plurality of areas respectively corresponding to the plurality ofviews. In more detail, by identifying the operation target view which isthe target view of operation based on the second information F2associated with the target pixel of operation by the user, it ispossible to determine the target area of the gesture more appropriatelyout of the plurality of areas respectively corresponding to theplurality of views.

Particularly, even when two adjacent views overlap with each other (inappearance) (see FIG. 23 ), the view to which the pixel belongs mayappropriately be determined by using the second information F2 on thepixel in the overlapped area. Therefore, also when the target pixel ofoperation by the user is the pixel in the overlapped area, it ispossible to determine the operation target view (the target area of thegesture) which is the target view of operation more appropriately basedon the second information F2 associated with the target pixel.

Moreover, as described above, each view may have various shapes otherthan the rectangular shape (e.g., the vertically combined shape of thetwo ellipses, a lower semicircular shape, and a circular shape). Thatis, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in the shape.Further, since the second information F2 (view identificationinformation) is stored so as to be associated with each pixel asdescribed above, it is possible to identify the operation target vieweasily while improving the degree of freedom in the shape.

Thus, it is possible to determine the operation target view (target areaof gesture) more appropriately, while increasing the degree of freedomin the shape of each view, and the degree of freedom in the arrangementof each view.

Moreover, in this embodiment, since the operation target view isautomatically identified according to the position of the mouse cursor,the user does not need to press a given button (operation target viewchange button) in order to change the operation target view. Therefore,the user can specify the operation target view easily.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the operation target view is identifiedaccording to the position of the mouse cursor, and the processing forthe mouse operation is automatically changed according to the operationtarget view. For example, the content of the viewpoint change operation(rotation of the object) is changed according to which view among theperspective view 51 and the top view 53 a similar downward drag isperformed. In detail, when a downward drag is performed to theperspective view 51, the viewpoint rotation about the axis AX2 may beperformed, and when a downward drag is performed to the top view 53, theviewpoint rotation on the axis AX1 is performed. Thus, the suitableoperation according to the view may be performed automatically.

<1-8. Modifications According to First Embodiment>

Note that, in the first embodiment, the correction of the view (viewimage) is performed only for the operation target view, and thecorrection of the view is not changed for views other than the operationtarget view. However, the present disclosure is not limited to thisconfiguration.

In detail, when the view modification instruction to the operationtarget view is given, at least one of the plurality of views other thanthe operation target view may also be corrected in addition to theoperation target view. In other words, the view correction of viewsother than the operation target view may be performed in an interlockedmanner with the operational instruction to the operation target view.

For example, when the operation target view is the perspective view 51,and the view modification instruction is given to the perspective view51, and the viewpoint of the perspective view 51 is rotated on the axisAX1 to update the perspective view 51 (see FIG. 7 ), the screen 200 maybe changed as illustrated in FIG. 18 . In detail, the viewpoint of theperspective view 51 may be rotated on the axis AX1 (see FIG. 7 etc.) andthe perspective view 51 may be updated, and the viewpoint of the sideview 52 may be rotated on the axis AX1 (see FIG. 11 etc.) and the sideview 52 may also be updated (see FIG. 18 ). Further, the top view 53 maybe rotated on the axis AX1 (see FIG. 14 etc.) and the top view 53 mayalso be updated (see FIG. 18 ).

2. Second Embodiment

The second embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment. Below,differences from the first embodiment are mainly described.

In the second embodiment, a touch panel type display device(hereinafter, also simply referred to as a “touch panel”) may beprovided as the display unit 31, and a configuration in which thegesture (also referred to as the “touch gesture”) is accepted by usingthe touch panel is described. In the second embodiment, the touch panelmay be provided as the user interface 34. In other words, the touchpanel may function as the display unit and also may function as theoperation input unit.

In the second embodiment, an instruction similar to the instructiongiven by the drag using the mouse gesture in the first embodiment may begiven by one-finger drag of the touch gesture.

Moreover, in the second embodiment, the two-finger operation by thetouch gesture (the operation performed simultaneously with two fingers(also referred to as a “multi-touch operation”)) may also be accepted.The two-finger operation may include a pinch-in, a pinch-out, atwo-finger drag, and a two-finger rotation.

The pinch-in operation may be an operation for narrowing a mutualinterval of two fingers on the screen, and the pinch-out operation maybe an operation for stretching the mutual interval of the two fingers onthe screen. The two-finger drag (may also be referred to as a “slide” or“swipe”) may be an operation for simultaneously moving the two fingersin a certain direction (in the same direction) on the screen. Moreover,the two-finger rotation may be an operation to change a direction of aline connecting positions of the two fingers on the screen according toa movement of the two fingers (e.g., moving the two fingers to themutually opposite directions centering on a certain position on thescreen).

In the second embodiment, by utilizing the multi-touch gesture among aplurality of gestures (in detail, the pinch-in, the pinch-out, thetwo-finger drag, the two-finger rotation), it is possible to realize thepositional change and the magnification change of the operation targetview, without changing the operation mode between “the rotation mode”and “the arrangement change mode.”

In detail, when the two-finger drag is performed in the operation targetview, it may be determined that a movement instruction to the operationtarget view (a display position change instruction in the screen) isgiven. Then, the operation target view (e.g., the top view 53) may bemoved to a user's desired position according to the movement instruction(see FIG. 21 ). Note that the two-finger drag may be identified as themove instruction operation for moving the operation target view in thescreen, regardless of the type of operation target view.

Moreover, when the two-finger pinch operation (e.g., the pinch-in or thepinch-out) is performed to the operation target view, it may bedetermined that a magnification change instruction to the operationtarget view (a change instruction of the display size (display area) inthe screen) is given. Then, the size of the operation target view may bechanged according to the magnification change instruction. In detail, itmay be determined that the pinch-out is a zoom-in instruction to theoperation target view, and the operation target view (e.g., theperspective view 51) is zoomed-in according to the pinch-out (see FIG.22 ). On the other hand, it may be determined that the pinch-in is azoom-out instruction to the operation target view, and the operationtarget view is zoomed-out according to the pinch-in. Note that thetwo-finger pinch operation may be identified as the magnification changeinstruction operation for zooming the operation target view in thescreen, regardless of the type of operation target view.

Moreover, the two-finger rotation may be identified as an operation forgiving the “rotation instruction about the vertical axis AX1,”regardless of the type of operation target view. That is, even if theoperation target view of the two-finger rotation is any one of theperspective view 51, the side view 52, and the top view 53, it may bedetermined that the two-finger rotation is the “rotation instructionabout the vertical axis AX1.”

Moreover, when the one-finger drag to each operation target view isgiven, it may be determined that a similar instruction to the drag ofthe mouse in the “rotation mode” is given.

In detail, when the one-finger drag is performed as the touch operationto the perspective view 51, and the instructed displacement amount ΔU ofthe drag is larger than the instructed displacement amount ΔV, the“rotation instruction about the vertical axis AX1” may be identified asthe instructed content of the instructing gesture (see FIGS. 7 and 8 ).Similarly, when the instructed displacement amount ΔU of the drag issmaller than the instructed displacement amount ΔV, the “rotationinstruction about the horizontal axis AX2” may be identified as theinstructed content of the instructing gesture (see FIGS. 9 and 10 ).

Moreover, when the one-finger drag is performed as the touch operationto the side view 52, and the instructed displacement amount ΔU of thedrag is larger than the instructed displacement amount ΔV, the “rotationinstruction about the vertical axis AX1” may be identified as theinstructed content of the instructing gesture (see FIGS. 11 and 12 ).Similarly, when the instructed displacement amount ΔU of the drag issmaller than the instructed displacement amount ΔV (see FIG. 13 ), “notchanging the viewpoint” may be identified as the instructed content ofthe instructing gesture.

Moreover, when the one-finger drag is performed as the touch operationto the top view 53, the “rotation instruction about the vertical axisAX1” may be identified as the instructed content of the instructinggesture, regardless of the magnitude correlation of the instructeddisplacement amount ΔU and the instructed displacement amount ΔV of thedrag (see FIGS. 14 to 17 ).

Similar effects as those of the first embodiment can be acquired alsofrom the second embodiment.

Moreover, in the second embodiment, the operation target view mayautomatically be identified according to the touch starting position ofthe touch gesture. In detail, the operation target view may beidentified automatically based on the second information F2 associatedwith the pixel of the touch starting position. Therefore, the user doesnot have to depress the given button each time he/she changes theoperation target view. Therefore, the user can identify the operationtarget view easily.

Moreover, in the second embodiment, mutually different instructedcontents may be assigned to the two-finger operation (multi-touchoperation) and one-finger operation (single-touch operation). Bysuitably using the plurality of kinds of touch operations separately, alarge number of instructed contents may be given so as to bedistinguished from each other. Therefore, it does not require the modechange operation being performed, for example, by pressing the modechange button 69. In detail, the viewpoint change operation (rotation),the move operation of each view, and/or the magnification changeoperation of each view may be realized by only the touch operation.

3. Modifications

As described above, although the embodiments of the present disclosureare described, the present disclosure is not limited to theconfigurations described above.

For example, although in the first embodiment etc. the movementinstruction and/or the magnification change instruction of the operationtarget view is performed accompanied by the operation other than themouse operation (in detail, the pressing operation of the mode changebutton 69), the movement instruction and/or the magnification changeinstruction of the operation target view may be distinguished by acombination of the button operation of the mouse, the move operation ofthe mouse, and the mouse wheel operation, without being limited to theabove configuration. In detail, the “movement of the view” may beinstructed by an operation of moving the mouse while pressing both theleft and right buttons of the mouse, and the “magnification change(zoom-in and zoom-out) of the view” may be instructed by an operation ofrotating the mouse wheel while pressing the left button of the mouse.According to this configuration, various kinds of instructions may begiven without being accompanied by the pressing of the mode changebutton 69.

Moreover, in the above embodiments, although the underwater detectionapparatus is provided with the transducer which functions as thetransmitter and also functions as the receiver, the underwater detectionapparatus may be provided with the transmitter and the receiverseparately, without being limited to the above configuration.

Moreover, in the above embodiments, although the data set is acquiredusing the scanning sonar which forms the transmission beam all at oncetoward all the underwater directions centering on the ship, it is notlimited to this configuration. For example, the data set may be acquiredusing an underwater detection apparatus provided with a searchlightsonar (PPI sonar) which rotates a transmission beam and a receivingbeam.

Moreover, in the above embodiments, although the data set (e.g.,school-of-fish data) detected from the underwater environment areacquired related to the underwater target object (e.g., a school offish), it is not limited to this configuration. For example, the dataset (e.g., meteorological data) detected from the air environment may beacquired related to a target object (e.g., moisture) in the air.Alternatively, the data set (e.g., medical data) detected from theenvironment in a living body may be acquired related to a target objectin a human body (e.g., an internal organ).

Terminology

It is to be understood that not necessarily all objects or advantagesmay be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment describedherein. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize thatcertain embodiments may be configured to operate in a manner thatachieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taughtherein without necessarily achieving other objects or advantages as maybe taught or suggested herein.

All of the processes described herein may be embodied in, and fullyautomated via, software code modules executed by a computing system thatincludes one or more computers or processors. The code modules may bestored in any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or othercomputer storage device. Some or all the methods may be embodied inspecialized computer hardware.

Many other variations than those described herein will be apparent fromthis disclosure. For example, depending on the embodiment, certain acts,events, or functions of any of the algorithms described herein can beperformed in a different sequence, can be added, merged, or left outaltogether (e.g., not all described acts or events are necessary for thepractice of the algorithms). Moreover, in certain embodiments, acts orevents can be performed concurrently, e.g., through multi-threadedprocessing, interrupt processing, or multiple processors or processorcores or on other parallel architectures, rather than sequentially. Inaddition, different tasks or processes can be performed by differentmachines and/or computing systems that can function together.

The various illustrative logical blocks and modules described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented orperformed by a machine, such as a processor. A processor can be amicroprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be acontrolling module, microcontrolling module, or state machine,combinations of the same, or the like. A processor can includeelectrical circuitry configured to process computer-executableinstructions. In another embodiment, a processor includes an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array(FPGA) or other programmable device that performs logic operationswithout processing computer-executable instructions. A processor canalso be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., acombination of a digital signal processor (DSP) and a microprocessor, aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunctionwith a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Although describedherein primarily with respect to digital technology, a processor mayalso include primarily analog components. For example, some or all ofthe signal processing algorithms described herein may be implemented inanalog circuitry or mixed analog and digital circuitry. A computingenvironment can include any type of computer system, including, but notlimited to, a computer system based on a microprocessor, a mainframecomputer, a digital signal processor, a portable computing device, adevice controlling module, or a computational engine within anappliance, to name a few.

Conditional language such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, are otherwise understoodwithin the context as used in general to convey that certain embodimentsinclude, while other embodiments do not include, certain features,elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generallyintended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any wayrequired for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodimentsnecessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input orprompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included orare to be performed in any particular embodiment.

Disjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, or Z,”unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with thecontext as used in general to present that an item, term, etc., may beeither X, Y, or Z, or any combination thereof (e.g., X, Y, and/or Z).Thus, such disjunctive language is not generally intended to, and shouldnot, imply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at leastone of Y, or at least one of Z to each be present.

Any process descriptions, elements or blocks in the flow views describedherein and/or depicted in the attached figures should be understood aspotentially representing modules, segments, or portions of code whichinclude one or more executable instructions for implementing specificlogical functions or elements in the process. Alternate implementationsare included within the scope of the embodiments described herein inwhich elements or functions may be deleted, executed out of order fromthat shown, or discussed, including substantially concurrently or inreverse order, depending on the functionality involved as would beunderstood by those skilled in the art.

Unless otherwise explicitly stated, articles such as “a” or “an” shouldgenerally be interpreted to include one or more described items.Accordingly, phrases such as “a device configured to” are intended toinclude one or more recited devices. Such one or more recited devicescan also be collectively configured to carry out the stated recitations.For example, “a processor configured to carry out recitations A, B andC” can include a first processor configured to carry out recitation Aworking in conjunction with a second processor configured to carry outrecitations B and C. The same holds true for the use of definitearticles used to introduce embodiment recitations. In addition, even ifa specific number of an introduced embodiment recitation is explicitlyrecited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitationshould typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations).

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.).

For expository purposes, the term “horizontal” as used herein is definedas a plane parallel to the plane or surface of the floor of the area inwhich the system being described is used or the method being describedis performed, regardless of its orientation. The term “floor” can beinterchanged with the term “ground” or “water surface.” The term“vertical” refers to a direction perpendicular to the horizontal as justdefined. Terms such as “above,” “below,” “bottom,” “top,” “side,”“higher,” “lower,” “upper,” “over,” and “under,” are defined withrespect to the horizontal plane.

As used herein, the terms “attached,” “connected,” “mated,” and othersuch relational terms should be construed, unless otherwise noted, toinclude removable, moveable, fixed, adjustable, and/or releasableconnections or attachments. The connections/attachments can includedirect connections and/or connections having intermediate structurebetween the two components discussed.

Numbers preceded by a term such as “approximately,” “about,” and“substantially” as used herein include the recited numbers, and alsorepresent an amount close to the stated amount that still performs adesired function or achieves a desired result. For example, the terms“approximately,” “about,” and “substantially” may refer to an amountthat is within less than 10% of the stated amount. Features ofembodiments disclosed herein are preceded by a term such as“approximately,” “about,” and “substantially” as used herein representthe feature with some variability that still performs a desired functionor achieves a desired result for that feature.

It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may bemade to the above-described embodiments, the elements of which are to beunderstood as being among other acceptable examples. All suchmodifications and variations are intended to be included herein withinthe scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A data processing apparatus, comprising:processing circuitry configured to: acquire a data set from targetdetected by a detection apparatus; and perform rendering of the dataset, and generate a plurality of views arranged on a screen, each viewof the plurality of views comprising a plurality of pixels; and eachpixel included in the plurality of views being associated with aplurality of pieces of information including a first informationdisplayed on the screen and a second information that indicates a viewamong the plurality of views to which the pixel belongs.
 2. The dataprocessing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a user interfaceconfigured to receive a user operation on the plurality of views;wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: acquire the secondinformation associated with an operation pixel subject to the useroperation, specify an operation view subject to the user operation basedon the second information of the operation pixel, detect a gesturerelated to the user operation as an instruction gesture, and modify theoperation view based on the instruction gesture, when the instructiongesture is a view modification instruction.
 3. The data processingapparatus of claim 1, wherein: the plurality of views comprises at leasttwo of a perspective view, a side view and a top view.
 4. The dataprocessing apparatus of claim 2, wherein: the plurality of viewscomprises a perspective view; and when the operation view is theperspective view, and a displacement amount of the instruction gesturein a horizontal direction in the screen is larger than a displacementamount of the instruction gesture in a vertical direction in the screen,the processing circuitry is configured to generate a view image as a newperspective view by rotating a viewpoint of the perspective view about afirst axis in a three-dimensional space relating to the data set, thefirst axis being the vertical direction in the screen in the perspectiveview.
 5. The data processing apparatus of claim 2, wherein: theplurality of views comprises a perspective view; and when the operationview is the perspective view, and a displacement amount of theinstruction gesture in a horizontal direction in the screen is smallerthan a displacement amount of the instruction gesture in a verticaldirection in the screen, the processing circuitry is configured togenerate a view image as a new perspective view by rotating a viewpointof the perspective view about a second axis in a three-dimensional spacerelating to the data set, the second axis being the horizontal directionin the screen in the perspective view.
 6. The data processing apparatusof claim 2, wherein: the plurality of views comprises a side view; andwhen the operation view is the side view, and a displacement amount ofthe instruction gesture in a horizontal direction in the screen islarger than a displacement amount of the instruction gesture in avertical direction in the screen, the processing circuitry is configuredto generate a view image as a new side view by rotating a viewpoint ofthe side view about a first axis in a three-dimensional space relatingto the data set, the first axis being the vertical direction in thescreen in the side view.
 7. The data processing apparatus of claim 2,wherein: the plurality of views comprises a side view; and when theoperation view is the side view, and a displacement amount of theinstruction gesture in a horizontal direction in the screen is smallerthan a displacement amount of the instruction gesture in a verticaldirection in the screen, the processing circuitry is configured toinhibit a rotation of a viewpoint of the side view.
 8. The dataprocessing apparatus of claim 2, wherein: the plurality of viewscomprises a top view; and when the operation view is the top view, and adisplacement instruction in a horizontal direction or a verticaldirection in the screen is given based on the instruction gesture, theprocessing circuitry is configured to generate a view image as a new topview by rotating a viewpoint of the top view about a first axis in athree-dimensional space relating to the data set, the first axiscorresponding to a direction perpendicular to the screen in the topview.
 9. The data processing apparatus of claim 2, wherein: when theview modification instruction is given to the operation view, theprocessing circuitry is configured to modify at least another view fromthe plurality of views, different from the operation view.
 10. The dataprocessing apparatus of claim 9, wherein: the plurality of viewscomprises a first view which is one of a perspective view, a side viewand a top view, and a second view which is a view different from thefirst view among the perspective view, the side view and the top view;and when the operation view is the first view, and the view modificationinstruction is given to the first view, and the first view is modifiedby rotating a viewpoint of the first view about a first axis in athree-dimensional space relating to the data set, the processingcircuitry is configured to modify the second view by rotating aviewpoint of the second view about the first axis.
 11. The dataprocessing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a transducerconfigured to transmit a transmission wave, receive a reception wavecomprising a reflection of the transmission wave on the target, andgenerate a reception signal based on the reception wave; wherein theprocessing circuitry is configured to generate the data set based on thereception signal, the reception wave being received from athree-dimensional space extending outwardly from the transducer.
 12. Adata processing method, comprising: acquiring a data set from targetdetected by a detection apparatus; and performing rendering of the dataset, and generating a plurality of views on a screen, each view of theplurality of views comprising a plurality of pixels; and each pixelincluded in the plurality of views being associated with a plurality ofpieces of information including a first information displayed on thescreen and a second information that indicates a view among theplurality of views to which the pixel belongs.
 13. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executableinstructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:acquire a data set from target detected by a detection apparatus; andperform rendering of the data set, and generate a plurality of views ona screen, each view of the plurality of views comprising a plurality ofpixels; and each pixel included in the plurality of views beingassociated with a plurality of pieces of information including a firstinformation displayed on the screen and a second information thatindicates a view among the plurality of views to which the pixelbelongs.
 14. The data processing method of claim 12, further comprising:receiving, by a user interface, a user operation on the plurality ofviews; acquiring the second information associated with an operationpixel subject to the user operation, specifying an operation viewsubject to the user operation based on the second information of theoperation pixel, detecting a gesture related to the user operation as aninstruction gesture, and modifying the operation view based on theinstruction gesture, when the instruction gesture is a view modificationinstruction.
 15. The data processing method of claim 12, wherein: theplurality of views comprises at least two of a perspective view, a sideview and a top view.
 16. The data processing method of claim 14,wherein: the plurality of views comprises a perspective view; and whenthe operation view is the perspective view, and a displacement amount ofthe instruction gesture in a horizontal direction in the screen islarger than a displacement amount of the instruction gesture in avertical direction in the screen, generating a view image as a newperspective view by rotating a viewpoint of the perspective view about afirst axis in a three-dimensional space relating to the data set, thefirst axis being the vertical direction in the screen in the perspectiveview.
 17. The data processing method of claim 14, wherein: the pluralityof views comprises a perspective view; and when the operation view isthe perspective view, and a displacement amount of the instructiongesture in a horizontal direction in the screen is smaller than adisplacement amount of the instruction gesture in a vertical directionin the screen, generating a view image as a new perspective view byrotating a viewpoint of the perspective view about a second axis in athree-dimensional space relating to the data set, the second axis beingthe horizontal direction in the screen in the perspective view.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereoncomputer-executable instructions of claim 13, which, when executed by acomputer, cause the computer to: receive, by a user interface, a useroperation on the plurality of views; acquire the second informationassociated with an operation pixel subject to the user operation,specify an operation view subject to the user operation based on thesecond information of the operation pixel, detect a gesture related tothe user operation as an instruction gesture, and modify the operationview based on the instruction gesture, when the instruction gesture is aview modification instruction.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions of claim13, wherein: the plurality of views comprises at least two of aperspective view, a side view and a top view.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executableinstructions of claim 18, wherein: the plurality of views comprises aperspective view; and when executed by a computer, thecomputer-executable instructions cause the computer to: when theoperation view is the perspective view, and a displacement amount of theinstruction gesture in a horizontal direction in the screen is largerthan a displacement amount of the instruction gesture in a verticaldirection in the screen, generate a view image as a new perspective viewby rotating a viewpoint of the perspective view about a first axis in athree-dimensional space relating to the data set, the first axis beingthe vertical direction in the screen in the perspective view.